RECORD EDITORIAL: SHIP dollars a nexus of opportunity, impact

Sunday

"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails." — William Arthur Ward

This year legislative session seems like a tale of two realities.

On one hand, we have lawmakers filing ridiculous bills regulating drinking straws, suntan lotion and zucchini gardens — and Gov. Ron DeSantis seeing the big picture and keeping eyes on the prize.

Whether it’s his military background where goals and actions are inseparable; or a humbling stint in Congress where, for freshmen lawmakers, priorities are an oxymoron and spinning your wheels is de rigueur — the guy just seems to “get it.”

His environmental initiatives have been surprising. But, perhaps his boldest move thus far is announcing late last week he wants more than $300 million set aside for affordable housing this year — to actually fund to affordable housing this year. And, we believe it may be the highest card he plays this session.

The Sadowski Housing Trust Fund was established in 1992. It was funded by an increase in the cost of documentary stamps on real estate deals.

It did not take long for lawmakers to figure out it’s much better to steal from the low- to medium-income residents looking for a permanent roof over their heads — than to announce a tax hike.

Of the $1.87 billion collected by and deposited to the trust find since the recession years, lawmakers have pilfered more than $1.3 billion from the good people for whom it was meant to offer a hand up — not a handout.

What has affordable housing advocates optimistic is it appears the Senate leadership is on board with the Governor. And, while the House may balk and preen, it’s not the same body that was under the thumbscrew leadership of House Speaker Richard Corcoran — who announced in 2017 that “Affordable Housing has grown around this huge source of money so it’s no longer the people who can’t afford housing, it’s those people who struggle to afford adequate housing, but they are fully salaried and employed.”

Wow.

No. Charter schools have grown around the huge source of money stolen from the housing trust fund.

But how much difference will there be locally if DeSantis and the Senate deliver the goods? While the pot varies with each legislative session, SHIP Executive Director Bill Lazar said that St. Johns County’s share hovered at around $1.2 million annually. Last year it was cut to $416,000.

If fully funded, St. Johns County would receive $2.9 million this year. Across Florida, the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) would get $243 million of the pot; the State Apartment Incentive Loan Program (SAIL), $95 million.

Timing could not be better (unless you count the last 12 years). Affordable housing is clearly an imperative recognized by both our county and city governments. The County has in hand a pot of nearly $12 million in hurricane funds earmarked for affordable housing initiatives.

This (trust money) would be huge for us,” Lazar told The Record. The dollars SHIP and SAIL receive are a little misleading. Because of volunteer labor, materials, private sector loans and equity, each trust fund dollar provides between $4 and $6 in economic return.

And this is something important to understand. They’ll be put to work here. We’ve seen how hundreds of small projects helped along by the community — a wheel chair ramp or a roof patching job — make a difference daily. New homes are being built on SHIP-owned parcels.

The bigger picture is these funds may help us incentivize private developers to take the plunge into more affordable projects — whether rentals or single-family homes — made so difficult here because of the cost of raw land and impact fees. Down payment assistance can put our workforce into homes and provide the incentives to keep them there.

St. Johns County could certainly be seen as Cinderella at the Affordable Housing Ball, with the highest median home costs in the state.

But trust fund dollars, spent with intent, could turn the corner for workforce housing. These new fund could be the nexus of opportunity and impact. There is no better time than now.

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